


Wishes

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Lifeline [4]
Category: The Brave (TV 2017)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Feels, Fluff, I No Longer Have Any Control Over What Happens, If I Ever Even Did, so many feelings, these two love each other so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-13 11:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13569684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: "When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out." - Elizabeth BowenJaz and Adam share their first leave together.





	1. Chapter 1

The Blue Ridge Mountains were beautiful, green and lush, and in some ways they were more foreign to Jaz than anyplace she'd ever gone on a mission. She'd said yes to Adam when he'd suggested they spend their first leave together in a cabin here, liking the thought of privacy, but she hadn't really processed how much it would feel like an entirely different world.

She stepped out of the car, feeling like she'd accidentally wandered into one of those calendars people always had over their desks. There was a little cabin next to a lake, a small dock with an equally small motorboat on the end, and enough trees it felt like they were the only two people around for miles. People in _movies_ went to places like this.

Overwhelmed, she turned back to Adam to see him standing on the other side of the car, watching her carefully enough that decades old reflexes suddenly panicked. Was she not reacting right? She was sure she'd enjoy herself – she enjoyed being with Adam pretty much anywhere they weren't being actively shot at – but she had no frame of reference for any of this. Was he disappointed that she didn't look excited enough? Should she be saying something, doing something?

When their eyes met, Adam seemed to catch himself and wince. "Sorry. It's just..." He hesitated a moment, then sighed. "I know you probably would have preferred somewhere in the city, but I've wanted to stay in one of these things ever since I was a kid." He gestured over to the far side of the lake. "My uncle used to take me fishing somewhere over there. We'd drag the boat down from the truck, and I'd look across the lake at the cabins and imagine all the families having vacations over here." He cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. "So I apologize in advance, and I promise next time we'll do something interesting."

Jaz's throat tightened. _Adam_ was the one who thought he'd gotten it wrong. She'd heard pieces of his past – the abusive, alcoholic father, the younger sisters who he hadn't seen in years – but it was rare to hear something even slightly sweet or hopeful. "And you've never stayed in one before now?" she asked softly.

He shrugged. "The whole point was being here with my family."

The words stole Jaz's breath, chest clenching with the same sweet pain that always came when he said things like that. Even now, she still wasn't used to being loved like this.

She swallowed. "When I was a kid, there was this older couple who lived in the building next to ours. Sometimes, I would sit out on the fire escape and watch through their window as they danced around the living room to Spanish radio. I never ran into them around the neighborhood, but I always wished I could live with them instead of my parents." She smiled a little at the memory. "They seemed so much happier than anyone in my family."

Adam's eyes lit, and he ducked back into the front seat of the car. After a few moments, the sound of a Spanish pop song poured out through the open doorway as he popped his head back up with a grin. "I _knew_ there was a reason I got satellite radio."

Her heart swelled as he danced around the car to her side, taking her by the hand and spinning her into his arms. They fell into a shared rhythm almost effortlessly, years side by side in the field and months in each other's arms letting them move together easily even though they'd never danced together before. The steps weren't anywhere close to an actual dance, just two people moving in time to the music and the joy bubbling up in their hearts.

When the music finally segued into a commercial and they slowed to a stop, Jaz took Adam's face in her hands and gave him a long, slow kiss. "I love it here," she murmured when they broke apart, utterly sincere. "But you'd better help me fight off any bears that show up."

Adam grinned again, tightening his arms around her. "I think I can manage that."


	2. Chapter 2

They always slept tangled around each other, as if trying to make up for any distance they’d had to put between them during the day. They hadn’t needed any of that distance today, in the privacy of the mountains where no one gave a damn about what either of them did for a living, but that night they slept as close together as they ever did.

Staring up at the darkened ceiling, Jaz sprawled across his chest like a blanket, Adam wondered if maybe they always would. It was a little terrifying, attaching the word “always” to anything good, but Jaz had seen him down to his depths and so far nothing had chased her away. She was always just there, warm and sure and ready to yell at him the second she thought he was being stupid, and something deep inside him had started to shift in a way he knew he’d never be able to come back from. Preach said it was his walls coming down.

Privately, Adam thought his walls were holding up fine. Jaz had just infiltrated them and taken over the control room.

Whatever it was, it had made him remember the cabins he used to stare at when he was a kid. He hadn’t thought about them for years, hadn’t let himself even touch any of the half-remembered hopes he’d shut the door on when he was 16, but Jaz had brought them shimmering into life like it was the easiest thing in the world. Dancing in the driveway, laughing in the kitchen, arguing good-naturedly over who caught the biggest fish – the kid he’d been would have cried to see that life could be like this.

For the first time, it made him wonder what else life might possibly hold for him. He’d always assumed he’d die on a mission, facing off against some quiet professional who was just a little faster than he was, but now all he could think about was how much time he would miss with Jaz. He wouldn’t want to cut her career short, but after they retired maybe they could get a little house somewhere. Or a condo, if that was what Jaz wanted – what really mattered was that it would be someplace that was _theirs_.

And, once they retired – once _he_ retired, actually – he wouldn’t be her superior officer anymore. There’d be nothing stopping him from getting down on one knee, and if he was very lucky and she said yes he could drive her over to a courthouse right then. Briefly, he tried to imagine what she’d say if he asked to take her last name – he didn’t give a shit about being a Dalton, and he liked the idea of them both having the same last name.

Of course, all that could only happen if he could talk her into saying yes.

He smoothed a hand over her hair, remembering the conversation they’d had with Preach months before they’d confessed their feelings for each other. “What if I _could_ provide you with a signed affidavit?” he murmured, still staring up at the ceiling. “I swear we wouldn’t be anything like your parents.”

It was only when he felt her freeze that he realized she must have woken up at some point. She pushed herself upward enough to stare down at him, eyes wide with shock, and Adam’s own breath left him when he realized that what he’d said sounded a hell of a lot like a proposal. More importantly, he’d _meant_ it as one, and his assumption that she wouldn’t be awake to hear it didn’t change that fact in the slightest.

Taking it back would be a lie. But from the shock on her face, it was clear he needed to do some damage control. “I know we can’t,” he reassured her, not wanting her to think he’d ask her to make that kind of choice. “At least not right now. I’ve technically hit my 20, but there’s no way in hell I’m ready for you to go out on missions without me.” If he ever would be. The idea that she’d be pinned down or captured and he wouldn’t be there to help bring her home was enough to send an ice-cold chill through him.

When she didn’t say anything, his chest twisted. “And if it’s that you don’t like the idea of getting married, then I promise I’ll never bring it up again.” He reached up, brushing his fingers along the curve of her cheek. “As long as you stay, it doesn’t matter how.”

Jaz closed her eyes, and Adam braced himself for whatever she was about to say. When she opened them again, he could see the sheen of tears in the moonlight. “Yes.”

His heart stopped. “What?”

She leaned forward until they were only a few breaths apart. “When you can finally ask me,” she whispered, “the answer’s yes.”

For a moment all he could do was stare at her, his own eyes suddenly damp. Then, finally, he swallowed.  “Can I take your last name?”

With a sound between a laugh and a sob, Jaz kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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